


Resounding

by ooliblikas



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Angst, Crime, Drug Addiction, F/F, F/M, High School, M/M, Mental Illness, Romance, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-02 22:14:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5265632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ooliblikas/pseuds/ooliblikas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Roxas is a juvenile deliquent with a penchant of getting into fights with trust-fund babies, Namine can't tell the difference between a Mercedes and a Ferrari, Riku is the self-appointed king of St. Jude's Prepartory School, and Axel is the one who throws everything off the rails.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_Watch me take a crowbar_

_To your brand new car_

_Without the things your daddy bought you_

_You won't get very far_

_Without your plastic friends_

_And your odds and ends_

_Would you still be a star?_

**I hope that you're insured**

"Dad is going to flip out if he finds out that we took his truck!" Namine whined from the passenger seat, her knees bouncing out of anxious habit. Her eyes darted between the winding road in front of them and to her brother, Roxas, in the driver seat.

"Which is why we're not going to tell him." Roxas stated matter-of-factly, raising his brows to emphasize his point, "It won't even take that long. In and out." As he spoke he rolled down the window, briefly inhaling the summer air before lighting a cigarette.

Namine frowned, making a show of waving the smoke out of her face, "Do you really think we should be testing your boundaries? I mean, you did get your license taken away."

Roxas exhaled a puff of smoke, thinking of how he'd spent his summer under house arrest after being charged for reckless driving. He assumed Namine had a point, but rather than acknowledging the red-flag, he shot Namine a side glance, "Do you want to get back at that asshole or what?"

Namine squirmed in her seat, persumably contemplating the question, "I mean—I guess so. " Her voice trailed off as she turned her head away from Roxas to look out the passenger-side window.

"Exactly! So let's make sure the stupid fucker gets what he deserves." Roxas' lips curled into a devious smirk, accentuated by the street-lights that reflected off his porcelain skin, "The GPS says we're almost there, anyway."

"Are you sure they're even going to be here?" Namine bit her bottom lip, knowing it was a stupid question. It was the last day of summer, which always meant a bonfire and camping at the campsite on the outskirts of the city.

"Of course, Hayner said it's an annual tradtion." Roxas snorted.

As Roxas pulled up to their destination, he killed the headlights to the car and pulled into the parking lot of the campsite. After finding an easy spot to maneuver out of, he turned off the engine and smoothed out his blond hair, pulling a black beanie over his head.

Next to him, his sister twisted her hair up into a bun, mimicking his actions with noticeable hesitation. Whereas Roxas was used to being a degenerate, Namine had never even returned a library book late, let alone engaged in illegal activity.

"Here put these on." Roxas insisted, tossing a pair of black leather gloves to Namine before putting on a pair of his own. While Namine worked on the gloves, he opened the door and hopped out of the truck. As he busied himself with putting his hood up, "Which car is his?" He whispered, glancing over the numerous luxury cars that were clustered together. In the distance, Roxas could hear the hum of music and the chatter of voices, indicating they were certainly at the right place.

Namine looked around the parking lot until she spotted the familiar vehicle, "It's the silver Ferrari."

Roxas glanced up to actively observe the car, snorting, "Of fucking course it is. Wouldn't expect anything less from a Hawkins, right?" The blond scoffed, tossing his cigarette onto the ground and snuffing it out with the toe of his boot, "Alright, y'know the drill, quick and dirty."

The male trailed off as he walked towards the back end of the truck, using the rear bumper to hoist himself up so that he could pull items from the bed of the truck. Leaning forward, he grabbed a back pack and tossed it to Namine before grabbing a baseball bat and a crowbar. Jumping back down, he traded the crowbar for the back-pack, slinging it over his shoulder before gesturing for Namine to follow him.

Roxas could sense that Namine was teetering on the edge of retreating, but he didn't let it distract him as they snuck over to where the ferarri was parked, careful not to attract any unnecessary attention to themselves. Crouching next to the left front tire, Roxas pulled out a can of black spray paint from inside of the bag, shaking it as he looked at Namine, "As soon as we start the alarms going to go off. Which means we've got about ten minutes to book it back to the truck and get the hell out of dodge." Roxas spoke calmly, as if he were reciting the weekly forecast.

Without waiting for confirmation from Namine, he stood and began to carefully spray out the sentence, 'I hope you're insured' onto the car's hood. His hand moved with well-practiced ease, having a few years of tagging as his background. Once satisfied, he tossed the can into the nearby woods before turning to smirk at his sister, "Care to have the first swing?" He shifted his weight to his left leg, twirling the bat in one hand.

Namine hesistated, wringing her hands around the metal of the crowbar as if to solidify how entirely out of place she was in this scene. However, after a long exhale, she nodded. With what Roxas could only describe as repressed anger, Namine swung the crowbar into the driver's side window. As soon as the crowbar made contact with the window, the glass shattered, spraying shards of glass onto the leather interior of the car. As soon as the alarm went off, Namine's mouth formed into an 'O' of suprsie before she laughed, seemingly satisfied with her work.

"'Atta girl." Roxas encouraged, twirling the bat with a flick of his wrist before winding up and smashing out the head-lights. As if in rhythm with the car alarm, the two siblings proceeded to smash out windows, tail-lights, and even side-view mirrors. Glass littered both the interior and exterior of the car, reflecting off the moonlight.

At some point the distant music and chatter had ceased, turning into incoherent yelling that neither sibling could decipher over their own laughter. With their time to flee running out, Roxas dragged his car key against the metal of the door, leaving a thick and jagged white line, "I think we've made our point!" Roxas snickered, gently pushing Namine back towards the truck.

As Roxas ran around to the back of the truck, he tossed the evidence into the bed of the truck before joining Namine up front, sliding into the driver seat's where he proceeded to start the engine. Just as people were emerging from the trail that connected the camp-site to the parking lot , Roxas flicked on his high-beams to momentarily blind the newcomers and give them additional coverage. Roxas quickly shifted into 'reverse', peeling out of the parking lot, tires screeching against the pavement.

Shifting back into 'drive', the blonde turned the wheel until they were back onto the road, adjusting his lights as he accelerated well past the speed limit. He shifted his gaze from spotting any patrolling cops to checking for any drunken teenagers who might be trying to catch up to them.

In the passenger seat, Namine was gulping air between laughs as she continued to look behind them, "That wasn't Riku's car!" The girl finally sputtered out between her laughs, seemingly trying to get ahold of herself but unable to.

If Roxas hadn't been desperate to flee the scene, he would've slammed on the brakes at her statement. Instead, he frantically looked between Namine, the road ahead of them, and the road behind them, "What the fuck do you mean?!" Roxas snapped, unsure as to why his sister was laughing.

"I thought it was his until I saw the silver Mercedes." Namine covered her mouth, stifling her laugh as she looked mildly bewildered by her own mistake, "I thought Riku drove a silver Ferarri!" The girl dropped her hand to let out another howl of a laugh.

Roxas wasn't nearly as amused at the moment, briefly throwing his hands up in exasperation, "You can't tell the difference between a Mercedes and a god damn Ferrari?"

Namine furrowed her brows together, making a face at her brother, "It was an honest mistake!"

For a moment the only sound came from the hum of the engine, Roxas looked at his sister as if she had grown a second head, but the absurdity of the situation seemed to outweigh his anger. Both siblings exchanged another quick glance at each other, and then over their shoulder to the blackened road behind them, before breaking out into laughter.

"Okay, but whose car did we just vandalize?" Roxas shook his head in disbelief, passing the street sign that read 'Welcome to Pinecrest', informing them they'd crossed town lines.

"Who cares? It was a blast!" Namine smiled, removing the beanie from her head and pulling her hair from its bun, "I guess we're not as different as everyone says we are." Namine laughed, tossing her blond hair over her shoulder.

"Oh, yeah, minus the fact that I know the difference between a Mercedes and a Ferrari!" Roxas quipped, removing his own beanie. "I'd feel bad, but anyone Riku includes in his inner circle is bound to be another rich asshole." Roxas sneered, rolling his eyes.

Namine smiled despite her brother's teasing, "Yeah, but it would've been a good start to the school year if it'd been Riku's car."

Roxas chuckled, rolling his shoulders, "Well, now that you're a certified juvenile delinquent, we can still find another way to pay him back," Roxas glanced at his sister, arching a brow, "But before we go on an international sibling crime spree, we should get the truck back before dad wakes up."

Just as the clock rolled over to twelve, Roxas turned the headlights off and pulled into the driveway. Silently closing the doors to the truck, Roxas lead his sister around the back of their house. Thankful that his bedroom was on the first floor, Roxas found the partially propped open window and slid it open with ease, "Give me a boost and I'll pull you in." Roxas suggested.

Given that Roxas was only two inches taller than Namine and was on the thinner spectrum of the 'athletic' build, Namine was able to use her hands to help Roxas climb back into his bedroom window. Once he was inside, he helped hoist her into the room.

"Thanks, Roxas." Namine smiled, walking towards Roxas' bedroom door so that she could sneak into her room.

"Yeah, next time try not to fall for a snake." Roxas snorted, flopping down onto his bed just as Namine rolled her eyes and stepped out into the darkness of their hallway.

Roxas didn't know whose car they'd vandalized, but it was sure to be a topic discussion on the first day of classes.

**Author's Note:** A small idea that's been brewing in my head.


	2. Chapter One

**Roxas**

"Still can't believe you lost your license." Roxas' best friend, Hayner, snickered from the side-lines as he watched Roxas' lock up his bike. Hayner was the first person Roxas had met since transferring to St. Jude's a year ago. Coincidentally, they had met in detention and had been fairly inseparable since. Even though they'd only known each other for a year, Roxas trusted him almost as much as he trusted his sister.

In Response to Hayner's taunts, Roxas shot him an icy-glare before getting up from his crouched position, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Don't remind me. I had to get a part-time job in order to pay off the damage and pay my dad for the insurance hike. On top of that, I also have to do five-hundred hours of court-ordered community service."

"Guess you're not winning the 'Son of The Year' award, then?" Hayner chuckled, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "I'd give you a ride, but Janice isn't ready yet."

Roxas rolled his eyes, 'Janice' was Hayner's car, although calling it a 'car' was a little too kind. The old junker had more in common with a pile of scrap metal than a car, but Hayner loved it nonetheless. From what Roxas understood, Hayner's father had been a small-town mechanic until becoming the owner of one of the largest car dealerships' in the state. Despite their wealth, Hayner's father remained adamant that his children learn the value of a dollar rather than having  _everything_  handed to them. Which meant that Hayner's father went half-way with Hayner on purchasing 'Janice', leaving Hayner to fix her up during his free time. Hayner, who had a knack for fixing things, was more than happy to accept the offer.

"I don't think Janice will be ready in my life time, so no worries." Roxas smirked, earning himself a 'hey' and a moderately gentle jab to his right bicep from Hayner.

"Whose Janice?" Namine approached the two, having hitched a ride with their father who refused to give Roxas a lift under the pretense that Roxas could use the exercise.

"A pile of scrap metal that Hayner swears is a car." Roxas answered cooly, teasing Hayner.

However, Hayner didn't seem to be paying attention. Instead, he was looking at the motorcycle that pulled into the senior parking lot, "Holy fuck, I can't believe he's back." Hayner let out a whistle to punctuate his disbelief. Roxas knitted his brows in confusion, not only at Hayner's reaction, but the sudden stillness and hushed whispers of the nearby student body who ceased their first-day reunions to stare.

When the engine of the motorcycle was killed, the person riding it removed his helmet, revealing a mop of cherry-red hair and poisonous green-eyes. The man was too far away to make out any other distinguishable features, though Roxas swore the kid had tattoos on his face. Which, having grown up on the South side of Chicago, was never a good sign.

The senior didn't seem to be paying any attention to the numerous stares, or if he did notice, he certainly didn't show it. Instead, the red-head made a beeline to Riku, both men laughing and talking animatedly.

No longer finding any interest in the scene, Roxas refocused his attention on Hayner, "Who is he?"

"Axel Lancaster." Hayner answered in a mumble, almost as if his disbelief turned to disdain.

"Lancaster? Why does that sound familiar?" Namine questioned, folding her arms over her chest as she leaned in towards Roxas, trying to get a better view of the two seniors across the parking lot.

Hayner opened his mouth to answer, but Roxas beat him to it, "Lancaster Hotels, I'm guessing. Dad got me a job at the one on 7th street, remember?"

"That's the one." Hayner agreed, pulling his attention away from Axel and Riku to Roxas, "Axel used to attend St. Jude. Although I use 'attend' lightly, he practically ran it. Not in the same way Riku thinks he runs it, but more that Axel was all charm and good-looks. People either want to be him, or be with him. He seems harmless up until he's stabbing you in the back."

Roxas listened to Hayner talk, suddenly feeling as if he had entered a 'Mean Girls' script, but he could tell that Hayner was more on edge than normal. Part of him wanted to ask if the two had history, but he thought better of it, "Right, so he's just another asshole trust fund-baby with sociopathic tendencies. Basically a carbon copy of all the other losers Riku associates himself with." Roxas mused, not understanding the fuss over the kid.

"So, wait, you said he was back, right? Where was he before?" Namine interjected, furrowing her brows together.

"At the end of his sophomore year, before you transferred in, there was a lot of rumors that Axel was involved in drugs. There was even a rumor that he'd been arrested for drug possession, but no one knows for sure. Long story short, he basically fell off the radar sophomore year. His father pulled him out of school and sent him, not only out of state, but out of the fucking country. No one has heard from him since, hell, a lot of people don't even think Riku was kept in the loop after his departure." Hayner frowned, rolling his shoulders forward "He's bad news, man."

Both Roxas and Namine nodded nonchalantly, although Roxas could see that Namine was visibly getting anxious over the conversation. Ever since they transferred, Riku and his posse had targeted them relentlessly, presumably because they weren't actually 'prep school material'. While everyone was here on their parent's dollar, Roxas and Namine were here based on their grades and the school's lottery system that awarded two students that opportunity to be enrolled despite their financial instability.

Roxas shifted his gaze over to where Axel and Riku were walking towards the school's entrance, Kairi and Larxene joining them. Just before Roxas went to look away, Axel seemingly looked in his direction. Roxas felt himself subconsciously roll his eyes before looking at Hayner and Namine, "Well, can't say I have any interest in getting chummy with Riku's posse, but warning received, nonetheless."

* * *

By fourth period, Roxas was harvesting a headache and rubbing his temples was all he could to keep himself from snapping at the nearest person. Apparently, everyone who was anyone knew about how he'd been arrested for reckless driving and had spent his summer on house arrest. People were either whispering about him, or straight up asking him questions. It was exhausting and nauseating.

As he entered the chemistry classroom, he was relieved to find it empty, giving him a few moments of respite. He found his seat towards the middle of the class, sitting at one of the tables before busying himself with his cell-phone. Aside from his house-arrest, he'd also been punished by his parents, including the fact that he hadn't been allowed access to the internet all summer. Thus, with his re-discovered freedom, he found himself browsing through various social media platforms to see what he'd missed.

He'd been so enthralled in his phone that he barely noticed that the classroom had filled up, or that the teacher had walked in until she cleared her throat, effectively ending the chatter. As soon as she began writing her name out on the white-board, a final student drifted into the class room.

"Axel Lancaster, I presume. I'm sure you don't require an introduction." The teacher mused, arching a brow. Axel snorted, giving her a half-assed salute as if giving her permission to continue conducting her class.

Scanning the classroom, Roxas quickly realized that the only available seat was the one next to him. As he narrowed his eyes at the vacant stool, he briefly debated if he had it in him to act insane enough to insist that the chair was taken by his imaginary friend. The blonde was almost on the verge of saying 'yes' when the red-head sat down.

For a brief moment they made eye-contact, giving Roxas enough time to assess that Axel's face was indeed tattooed. Not only that, but the red-head was almost a head taller than him and smelled strongly of weed, suggesting any time he spent at rehab presumably didn't work.

No longer interested in ogling the stranger, he turned his gaze back to his cell-phone.

Half way into the teacher going over safety protocols, a girl in front of them, Selphie, turns in her seat to look at Axel. She smiles at him, her movements painfully languid. Selphie was the type of girl that always tried to penetrate the inner circle of Riku's group, but never had quite the edge to do it. Still, out of the corner of his eye, Roxas could see the red-head curl his lips into a smirk.

"Did your dad flip out about the car?" The girl whispered, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to make sure the teacher wasn't looking at them.

In response, Axel snorted, less discrete about breaking classroom etiquette, "No, he's already got someone replacing the windows as we speak."

As soon as the words left Axel's mouth, Roxas felt a bundle of nerves harden in the pit of his stomach. He almost never got anxious, far too impulsive and reckless to waste his time on being anxious. Yet, here he was, stomach knotting at the mere suggestion that he was sitting next to the owner of the car that Namine and he had vandalized last night. Roxas tried to tell himself that it was probably just a cruel coincidence, but given that Axel was friends with Riku, it could still be a real possibility that the red-head had been at the party last night.

"That's crazy. Do you have any idea who did it?" The girl questioned, arching a brow.

"Nah." The answer was short, flippant. The girl seemed vaguely dejected at the sudden shut-down, but she maintained her composure as she turned around in her seat.

**Namine**

"She's such a _fucking_  bitch." Was Sora's greeting to Namine the moment he slammed his tray of food onto the cafeteria table, unceremoniously plopping down into the seat next to her, "I swear to  _fucking_ god, if she tells me to correct the posters one more time, I'm going to push her down a flight of stairs."

Namine almost spat her soda out at the image of Sora pushing Kairi down a flight of stairs, but she managed to swallow the liquid in between laughs, "It's only the first day of classes, what could she have possibly done?"

"Satan doesn't stop for summer vacation, Nam." Sora countered, exhaling as he combed his fingers through his brown hair, "She wants me to start hanging up posters for the fashion show, even though it isn't until November. The girl micromanages everything except her fucking pussy." As the brunette spoke, he bit into of his French-fries, a scowl imprinted on his face.

"Sora!" Namine scolded, scrunching her face up in disgust at the mere suggestion of Kairi's sex-life, "That's disgusting. How many posters do you have to put up?"

"One-hundred twenty-five flyers and a banner for each main stair well." Sora sighed, rolling his eyes, "As if I don't have a life outside of school."

Namine giggled, shrugging her shoulders, "I can stay after school and help, " Just as the offer left her lips, her phone buzzed and looking at the screen a text message from Roxas read, 'I think I know whose car we vandalized.' Namine frowned, knitting her brows together, "On second thought, I'm pretty sure Roxas and I have to do something for our dad after school." Namine lied, smiling apologetically.

Sora snorted, "Don't worry about it, how's your brother, anyway? Heard he got his license taken away."

**Roxas**

Aside from the possibility that his chemistry partner was the victim of his late-night vandalism spree, Roxas felt that his first day of classes had gone pretty smooth. At least, up until he went to unlock his bike from the bike rack. Someone had apparently added an additional lock to his bike, making it impossible for Roxas to remove the bike unless he got the key from whoever had locked it.

Roxas stared at his bike dumbly before hearing familiar snicker. The blond closed his eyes for the moment, inhaling through his nose before turning to face Riku. The senior in question was leaning against the hood of his vehicle, Axel perched on his motor-cycle next to him, looking disinterested in the event taking placed.

As Roxas studied Riku, it dawned on him that the asshole had not only gone to the trouble of messing with his bike, but he'd even moved his car closer to the bike rack just so that could get amusement from his agony.

If Roxas didn't want to kill him, he would've found the man's pension for sadism amusing.

With a sigh of annoyance, Roxas found himself dropping his bag near his bike before walking over to where Riku was, "Unlock my bike." Roxas demanded, unamused.

Riku merely laughed, rolling his shoulders forward in a shrug, "I don't know what you're talking about." Riku countered, his face twisted into an expression of pure amusement.

"Oh, yeah? Think if I break your nose it'll jog your memory?" Roxas spat, his patience wearing thin.

At the threat, Riku smirked and pushed himself off the hood of his car, sauntering over to where Roxas stood. As a football player, Riku was not only a good couple of inches taller than Roxas, but he was also significantly stronger than Roxas, "I'd like to see you try."

Roxas stood his ground, jaw tightening as he maintained his heated-glare, "Unlike you, I have a job to get to. So give me the fucking key." To make a point, the blond presented an expectant hand.

"Just give the kid the key." Axel drawled out, seemingly disinterested in the game of cat and mouse that was playing out in front of him. The red-head raised his brows, sliding the tooth pick in his mouth to the right corner of his lips, "I don't have time to fuck around with trailer trash."

Roxas ignored the blatant insult, keeping his eyes trained on Riku. Just when the blond was about to give up and have Hayner break the lock with one of the tools from the metal shop class, Riku reluctantly handed over the key, a smirk still playing on his features.

The blond snatched the key away and turned on his heels, just in time for Riku to open his mouth, "Say 'hi' to that slut you call a sister."

The fuck did you just say?" Roxas turned, quickly approaching Riku. While RIku was undoubtedly stronger than Roxas, he wasn't nearly as fast as him. Before the platinum blond could register what was happening, Roxas had managed to grab a fist full of the man's shirt collar, arm-cocked back to deck the football player in face.

"Roxas!" Namine yelled, coming up behind them with Hayner in tow.

At the sound of Namine's voice, he hesistated in his motion, registering the fact that he couldn't risk getting into any more trouble. Thus, just as quickly as Roxas' fuse had been lit, he just as quickly fizzled out. Stepping away from Riku, he put both his hands up in mock surrender until he joined Namine and Hayner.

In the heat of the moment, Roxas hadn't see the amused grin that etched its way onto Axel's features.

**Riku**

Ever since the incident in the parking lot, he'd been notably heated. He had wanted to push Roxas over the brink, but Axel had interrupted it. He could have pushed his luck, but Axel had a knack of destroying more than just a reputation or two. Even ten years of friendship didn't protect him from the underlining wraith that was Axel Lancaster.

As of now, he was supposed to be picking Kairi up from cheer-practice, but instead he was watching a brunette haphazardly try to hang up a banner above the stair well that lead up towards the gymnasium. Even standing on the opposite side of the hall, he could hear the kid cursing up a storm. As he approached the brunette, debating whether he would actually lend a hand or make a snide comment, the universe decided for him.

In his frustration, the brunette tried to force a tac into the wall, only for it to prick him in the finger, resulting in a domino effect of the brunette yelping, losing his balance, and the folding chair collapsing under his weight. Without much thought, Riku reached out to catch the brunette, or at least spare the kid from a trip to the hospital.

"Fuck!" The brunette cursed, the air momentarily knocked out of him as Riku's arm wrapped around his waist line, sparring him from landing face first onto the freshly waxed tile floor. When he was set back onto his feet, the brunette barely acknowledge him as he instead tore down the poster with unbridled ferocity, "That fucking cunt Kairi can hang up her own damn posters!"

As he finished crumpling the banner into a ball, he spun on his heels to acknowledge his savior. However, upon seeing Riku, the color effectively drained from his face. The kid who'd been cursing up a hurricane, now shrunk under Riku's gaze, "Ah, hi, Riku."

Now that the kid was facing him, he recognized him to be one of the sophomore's that hung around Namine while simultaneously playing obedient dog for Kairi. Riku scanned over him for a moment, "Are you alright?" He drawled, arching a brow as he chose to ignore the fact that the kid had insulted his girlfriend.

"I'm f-fine." The brunette squeaked out, clearing his throat before repeating himself. Despite the brunette's hesitance, his cerulean eyes lit up with newfound excitement, "Hey, you could help me put up these banners!"

Riku snorted, arching a brow, "I should've let you hit your head." He moved to push past the brunette.

"Wait, wait, wait!" The kid practically pleaded, reaching out to grab onto the sleeve of his leather jacket, "Listen, I really need to get home by five and it would  _really_  help me out if I had another person to help me."

Riku glanced back at the brunette, scoffing at the desperation in the male's voice as he yanked his arm away from the male, "No thanks." He offered a final smirk before walking through the double-doors and leaving the brunette to pout in defeat.


	3. Chapter Two

**Roxas**

Roxas managed to bike downtown in record time, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a truck in the process. Fearing that he'd be late, he half-assed scrambled to change into his uniform and stuffed his back-pack and street clothes into one of the lockers provided to employees. He dodged his manager, making it a point to beeline straight to his post at the receptionist desk to retrieve the list of rooms that needed cleaning. He was in the middle of tucking his white button-up shirt into his black slacks when someone spoke to him.

"Are you following me?" The voice was masculine and Roxas snapped his head up, narrowing his eyes at the unmistakable lanky figure that belonged to Axel. The red-head's features were very cat-like up close, a narrow face and a hard jaw-line that complimented his high cheekbones. In the dim-light of the hotel lobby, his eyes were more of a forest green, and the small, triangular tattoos were nowhere to be found. Roxas presumed they were hidden beneath foundation or a tattoo concealer, given that face tattoos weren't exactly hotel-policy.

"I could ask you the same." Roxas managed, clipping his name tag on to his shirt while walking behind the desk where the red-head was leaning against the front counter.

"You could, but I was here first. Time-wise, birth-order, and divine-right." The words came out smoothly, the man maintaining a stoic expression minus the small upward quirk to the right side of his mouth. If Roxas was being honest, he was pretty sure 'smug' was the red-head's natural state.

"So divine you're working at a third-rate hotel?" It was far from the truth. The Lancaster hotels stood out like sore thumbs, monstrous buildings that boasted their architectural splendor. The hotels were the largest buildings in the reasonably sized city, and if their size didn't attract attention, the dark-red search-lights that lit up the building's exterior, coating it in a cherry-red hue, certainly caught one's attention. Most of the patrons were nauseatingly rich, woman with bug-eyed sunglasses and tiny dogs who thanked the stars above that the hotels accepted pets. The men were usually flanked with woman who were rarely ever their wives, corporate honchos attending conferences.

"You know my father owns this hotel, right?" Roxas didn't miss the underlining superiority in Axel's voice. The 'Don't you know who I am?' anthem of adolescents with a weekly allowance of a thousand dollars. Roxas wondered if his face reflected his inner thoughts as Axel's jaw tightened, the muscles bulging the slightest bit to let Roxas know the red-head's patience was wearing thin.

"Did I stutter?" Was Roxas' reply, turning his face away to grab the clip-board that was tucked away in the top drawer, a list of recent check-outs informing him what rooms needed to be cleaned out and restocked.

If Axel intended to say anything, it was cut short by a middle-aged man who walked up to the counter, "Heard you were working here now, Lancaster." Their manager, Luxord, arched a brow as he looked over Axel, "I thought your father was bullshitting, but yet, here you are." The man spoke through forced enthusiasm, "I mean really, kid, you're not even back for twenty-fours and you get your car wrecked?"

Roxas glanced between the two, getting the impression that Luxord was probably closer to the Lancaster family than his career choice let on.

"And I see you met the newbie, Roxas, right?" Luxord now smirked at him.

A part of Roxas, a strong part, wanted to congratulate the man on his inability to read his name-tag, but instead gave him a well-rehearsed polite smile. The type of smile he'd been trained to give to adults since the first time he broke one of his parent's rules. The type of smile that painted him as a Saint rather than a Sinner, and boy, was he good at it.

"That's right. Axel and I were just getting to know each other." Roxas arched a brow, looking between the two, "But if you'll excuse me now, I have work to do."

**xxx**

There were not enough rubber-gloves or bottles of bleach that could convince Roxas that he was safe from bacterial infection. The first room had been a relative breeze minus a couple overflowing ash-trays, empty beer bottles, and the faint smell of mold. However, everything immediately went downhill after that.

As of now, he was having a staring contest with a semen-filled condom that was perfectly preserved on top of, not the bed, but the table. It seemed to be watching his every move as he tried to skirt around it, saving it for the last thing his rubber gloves would have to touch. Eventually though, he had no choice but to deal with it. As if he was performing surgery, he delicately grabbed the opening to the condom, index and thumb gingerly pinching the latex closed. Holding the offending object at arm's length, he carefully guided it towards the trash-can, plopping it into the trash where he quickly tied the bag closed.

And boy, did he wish that was the worst of the night. It was clear that the hotel patrons weren't just nauseatingly rich, they were also just plain nauseating. If it wasn't garbage littering the floor, it was an unidentifiable stain that Roxas could only assume was some type of human body fluid.

Thankfully, not all of the rooms were a hopeless disaster, but by the time he was finished with his shift, Roxas was promising himself that he would never spend another night at a hotel.

As he was re-entering the lobby, he finished crossing off the last room on the list before handing the clip-board to an expectant Luxord who had joined Axel in manning the receptionist desk, "How was the first day, kid?" Luxord questioned. The middle-aged man leaned forward, his arms folded on top of the desk.

Roxas didn't answer, instead giving Luxord a look that made the older blond let out a cackle of a laugh, "Yeah, you'll get used to it, kid."

**Namine**

"Roxas, if you don't get up now, you're going to be late." Namine poked her heard into her brother's room, noting that her brother was curled-up in a cocoon of sheets, blankets, and pillows. He grunted in acknowledgement, but immediately turned on his side to escape the light that filtered in from the doorway.

Namine frowned, stepping into the darkened cave that her brother insisted was a bedroom. She walked over to where the windows were, studying the black bed-sheet that her brother had hung up as a makeshift curtain. With a shrug, she yanked the sheet down and listened to her brother let out a muffled groan, or hiss, she couldn't be sure.

"Get up unless you want mom to come in here and see all of these beer bottles." Namine threatened, knowing that their mother always connected drinking to drugs. Which, of course, meant an impromptu at-home drug test, something their mother randomly sprang on him ever since she discovered that he smoked pot in the eighth grade. It never lead to anything aside from a lot of yelling, both of their parents gravitating between overbearing to downright neglectful. Still, Namine knew it was an inconvenience Roxas wouldn't want to go through.

That seemed to set Roxas into motion as he sat up, eyes squinting into the sun-light and hair sticking up in several different directions, "That's fucked up, Nam." Roxas muttered, his voice a hoarse rasp.

"Got you up, didn't it?" Namine smiled, filtering past her brother to finish getting ready herself.

In the bathroom, she smoothed over her cream-colored blouse before leaning toward the mirror and applying red-lipstick. As she began applying eye-liner, she spotted Roxas watching her out of the corner of her eye. As she leaned back, she blinked several times before looking back at Roxas, "Are you going to Demyx's after school today?"

Roxas squeezed past his sister, nabbing his tooth brush and toothpaste from the counter before squirting some onto the tooth-brush, idly watching Namine continue applying her makeup, "Yeah, haven't seen him all summer, so I promised I'd stop by."

Roxas let out a snort before brushing his teeth, his dead-gaze reminding Namine of a zombie foaming at the mouth. After spitting into the sink, he leaned back up with an arched brow, "Why?"

Namine paused, considering her words carefully before rolling her shoulders, "Just asking, I guess."

Roxas wasn't buying her act as he slid his tooth brush back into the holder, "Is this your way of asking if you can tag along?"

Namine turned to face him, studying his expression for a moment before jutting out her lower lip in a pout, "Please?" To emphasize her point, she batted her eye-lashes.

"No, Xigbar and Saix are going to be there." Roxas countered with ease, effectively snuffing out any hope Namine had.

"So what? It's not like I haven't been around them before." Namine protested as she began tossing her makeup back into her make-up bag, looking at Roxas through the reflection of the mirror now.

"It's just not a good idea. " Roxas cut the conversation short, his hardened gaze revealing all the information she needed to know.

**Sora**

"Is this going to work?"

Even though the school was deserted this early in the morning, he still didn't appreciate the fact that his friend, Olette, insisted they meet in the girl's bathroom. She had instructed him to hop up onto the counter, which he did, feet dangling over the edge as he watched her shuffle through her make-up bag.

"Of course" Olette stated matter-of-factly, pulling out a skin-colored tube that Sora assumed was the 'foundation' Olette had been talking about, "Give me your hand." The brunette female held out her own hand in expectation, raising her brows in impatience when he didn't immediately surrender the appendage to her.

When he did, she quickly applied some of the liquid onto his skin, mixing it until it mostly blended into his skin, "Perfect, I had a feeling we were the same skin-tone." Olette commented to herself absent mindedly, turning now to instead dab some of the liquid onto Sora's left cheek bone.

Between the cold liquid and the pressure of Olette's finger, Sora flinched out of discomfort, exhaling sharply through his nose.

"How'd you even get this bruise anyway? I mean, geez, Sora, it looks pretty bad." Olette commented, frowning as she used her index and middle finger to blend the foundation into his skin, reapplying a dab more in order to get the most coverage.

"Thanks." Sora snorted, earning himself a small glare from Olette, "It's not a big deal, really. My dad was drinking again, y'know how it goes." Sora avoided eye-contact with his friend, suddenly feeling as if he was being examined under a microscope.

"Seriously Sora?! You need to talk to the guidance counselor about this shit. He can't keep doing this to you, it's been like this since we were in elementary school." Olette snapped, slamming the tube of concealer onto the counter.

Out of reflex, Sora flinched at the outburst, briefly reimagining the argument he had with his father over him being late in coming home. Keeping his eyes closed for a few moments, he exhaled and looked at his friend, "I can't, Olette."

Olette didn't respond to that, instead closing the tube of concealer and blatantly ignoring Sora as she packed her stuff up again. She was ready to walk out of the bathroom, only stopped by Sora who frantically grabbed her by the crook of the arm, "And you can't tell anyone either, Olette." Sora searched the brunette's face, trying to decipher what she was thinking, "You have to promise." Sora insisted, fear evident on his features as he tried to coax his friend into keeping the promise.

Olette frowned, turning to face him fully, her eyes glistening under the fluorescent lights, "What do you want me to do, Sora? Sit back and let that asshole beat you? Do what you want, Sora, but don't ask me to help you conceal your father's abuse. "

Without another word, the girl stormed out of the restroom, leaving Sora to his thoughts. The brunette ran fingers through his hair, raking at his hair out of frustration and fear. Fear that Olette would tell someone, and then, there was shame. Shame that he was more willing to hide his abuse, then to confront it.

Grabbing his back-pack off the counter, he caught a glimpse of his reflection. The concealer hid his bruise, but he could still feel it. The minimal swelling continued to pulsate beneath the makeup, irritated from the gentle pressure that Olette had applied when putting on the concealer.

He put his hands on the rim of the sink, leaning forward to study his face. Then, he spat at his own reflection, grabbing his bag off the counter and walking out of the bathroom, looking to go anywhere but to his first class.

**Kairi**

"Do you know Sora Chesterfield?" The red-head mused from the passenger seat of Riku's Mercedes, looking through her phone as she looked at Larxene in the backseat, and then to Riku in the driver's seat.

"Isn't he the sophomore who hangs out with Namine?" Larxene answered with feigned interest, snapping her gum as she filed her freshly manicured nails, examining them with a critical eye.

Riku thought of the brunette from the afternoon before, arching a brow as he studied the red-light above their head, "What about him?"

Kairi's lips curled into a coy smirk, taking a few moments to read through her phone messages, "I'm thinking about inviting him to the party this weekend. He's been pretty loyal to me, even as Namine's friend."

"You sure about that?" Riku questioned, arching a brow. He wasn't sure why he was interfering in Kairi's affairs, but for some reason, he wanted to stir up a little trouble for the sake of causing trouble.

"What do you mean?" Kairi set her phone down in her lap, studying her boyfriend's non-pulsed expression. When he didn't immediately respond she leaned forward, arching a brow in annoyance.

"Ran into him yesterday while he was hanging up those banners for the fashion show. He called you a cunt." Riku kept his eyes on the road, turning into the parking lot of the high school with a screech of his tires.

"Did he?" Kairi mused, narrowing her eyes, a look she got whenever she was beginning to conjure up a humiliating social-punishment, "Well, I think I'll invite him, anyway." Kairi gushed now, her tone coated in devious intentions.


	4. Chapter Three

**Axel**

Axel had been beneath the bleachers of the football field, enjoying a momentary respite when a brunette unintentionally stumbled into his spot. The male seemed ready to back-pedal, the color draining from his face the moment they made eye-contact. Admittedly, Axel was rather flattered that he posed that much of a threat to the male, but rather than feed on it, he extended his arm out to the brunette, joint in hand, "You look like you could use a hit." Axel exhaled smoke smoothly, his voice maintaining a soft rasp from the smoke that he'd been inhaling moments before.

The brunette didn't immediately move, as if the soles of his shoes had effectively melted into the concrete beneath them, "You look familiar." Axel tried again. It was a half-lie. The male did look familiar, but only because he knew who Sora was. Sora had been hanging around Kairi since she was a sophomore and Sora was still in middle school.

"I'm," Axel watched the brunette pause, his deep-blue eyes scanning the concrete before finding his thoughts, " _friends_  with Kairi." The brunette's voice rose towards the end of the statement, almost as if he was questioning his own relationship with her.

"Are you telling me or asking me?" The question was half-genuine, though half-way through he released he didn't actually care and rolling the wrist of his extended arm, "Don't be shy, it's rare that I share my joints with people." It was another lie, one to make even the most insecure feel important in his graces. After all, he was bred for acting engaging even during the dullest of social situations.

Sora looked between the joint and him as if one, or both, were irradiated. The red-head didn't mind, of course, watching the brunette accept the joint and take a puff. Axel tried not to laugh when the brunette immediately erupted into a coughing fit, indicating that Axel had essentially peer-pressured the kid into trying something new.

"What class you supposed in?" As he spoke, he accepted the joint and took another hit, studying the brunette out of the corner of his eye.

"English." Sora sighed as he answered, rubbing at the back of his neck, "You?"

Axel rolled his shoulders forward, "P.E. I should be running the mile right now." Axel snorted, then tilted his head, "Aside from Kairi, you also hang out with," Axel paused, as if collecting his own thoughts, "Namine, is it? Her brother's a junior, isn't he?"

Of course, he knew both of their names, having been promptly filled in by Riku and Kairi upon arrival. He had a vague sense of a timeline that involved Chicago and Southside Pinecrest, including their painfully impressive academic achievements that landed them in the school's lottery system. Though, it seemed, Roxas had a pension for getting himself in trouble. All of this information, of course, was stored away in Kairi's intricate filing system. How exactly the girl managed to have access to student's academic files, he didn't know. Aside from typical teenage-girl cattiness, it seemed Kairi only used them to find fleeting disciples to her adolescent, and entirely imaginary, kingdom.

**Sora**

The brunette felt a knot forming in the pit of his stomach, the same knot he got whenever Kairi was about to ask him to do some mind-numbing and irrational task. He was already feeling out of his element by skipping class, and now here he was, hiding beneath the bleachers with Axel Lancaster who was asking questions that Sora wasn't sure he should be answering.

"Ah, yeah, he's a junior, why?" Sora answered cautiously, accepting the joint that was once more handed to him. He felt partially light-headed, but he wasn't sure if that was from his anxiety or the marijuana. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he was teeter-tottering between ease and complete distress, he would've assumed the marijuana was canceled out by his overwhelming desire to flee.

"What's his deal?"

The question caught him off guard, he knew Riku had been giving Roxas a hard time since he transferred in, and if Axel had the same intentions, Sora certainly didn't want to be a part of that mess. And yet, Axel didn't seem all that interested in what Riku and the others did. Even back when Axel was a freshmen and sophomore, he seemed disconnected from all of the childish shit his friends pulled.

Instead, he was the impossibly  _cool_ guy that everyone wanted to be around.

"There's not much I know about him, to be fair." Sora really didn't know much about Roxas. The blond looked meaner than a rattle snake, but yet, he seemed to be pretty patient with people and he'd seen the numerous times that he acted like a caring, if not over protective, older brother to Namine, "I'm pretty sure Riku knows more than I do, after all, he's had it out for the both of them since they transferred here."

**Namine**

"Are you actually taking an art class?" Namine snorted as she entered the classroom, immediately spotting Hayner who seemed utterly lost as he busied himself with opening the art supplies they'd been instructed to purchase for class.

Hayner practically jumped at the sound of her voice, turning to look at her, "Uh, well, I need an easy elective, so…" The male gestured to the scattered art supplies that littered his desk and Namine had to laugh as she sat next to him.

"Well, colored me mildly offended that you think art classes are easy, but I suppose I can forgive it."

Hayner gave her a sheepish smile, his hand immediately coming up to rub at the back of his neck, "I didn't mean it like that, I mean, I suck at art, so I'm sure it won't be easy."

Namine shook her head, "You don't suck at art. Unless you're making a career out of it, no one sucks at art. "She smiled, reaching over onto Hayner's table to grab the erasers that were still in their packaging, removing the cellophane, "Plus, you have me as your guide into the art universe."

Hayner opened his mouth to respond to her encouragement, but was cut short when Olette walked into the classroom, "Have you seen Sora?" The brunette's brows were furrowed together in concern, casting an apologetic look to Hayner for interrupting his conversation with Namine.

"No, he wasn't in English this morning so I thought he was sick." Namine frowned, "Why, is something wrong?"

Olette sighed, plopping down in the chair next to Namine, shaking her head, "We got into a fight this morning and I bailed on him when I shouldn't have"

Namine could see that her friend was feeling guilty, but she didn't understand the depth of the problem. There was no doubt that Namine was quickly developing a strong friendship with both Olette and Sora, but she wasn't privy to their deepest secrets and thoughts. And if Namine were honest, she had a feeling there was more to uncover than she really wanted to know.

"Well, I'm sure Sora's going to be fine. If you want, I can text him?" Namine offered, pulling her phone out of her purse to pull up her text messages, ready on the 'go ahead'.

"No, don't worry about it. He's probably just blowing off steam and skipping class." Olette finished, redirecting the conversation by leaning forward in her seat so that she could look past Namine to Hayner, "Hey, you're Hayner, right? I think we had Algebra together during our freshman year."

Namine watched as Hayner gave Olette the once-over before a light-bulb went off in his head, "Ah, yeah, I remember you. You looked different back then."

Olette laughed, pushing her brunette hair back with her hand, "Yeah, I thought I wanted to be a Kairi clone, but now I've joined the dark-side." As if to make a point, Olette gestured over her mostly black ensemble with the corner of her mouth quirked upward in a grin, "Speaking of dark-side, you two going to the party on Saturday?"

**Roxas**

"I can handle it." Was the agitated response from Axel who was in the middle of measuring out a tablespoon of baking soda as per instructions. Once measured out, the older male dumped the spoon's content onto a paper towel before following the paper's instructions on the proper folding technique.

"Well, I would certainly hope so, considering most third graders can do this." Roxas responded evenly, ignoring the glare that Axel was giving him.

While the red-head worked with the baking-soda, Roxas made an effort to make sure the zip-lock didn't have any holes in it as he filled it partially with water. Upon seeing that it wasn't leaking, he emptied the water out, "Is it a half a cup of vinegar and a fourth of a cup of water?" Roxas questioned, trying to look over Axel's shoulder to see the paper. Though, all he managed to do was grunt in annoyance at the red-head's height.

"I thought third-graders could do this." Axel taunted, a shit-eating grin on his face as he turned to look at Roxas. Out of reflexive thought, Roxas imagined the satisfaction that could be derived from decking the man square in his pretty-boy mouth. Luckily, his limbic system was high-functioning enough that the small conscious he had told him that it wouldn't be socially appropriate.

"Just give me the paper." Roxas finally replied, running thin on insulting commentary as he semi-shouldered Axel out of the way to look at the paperwork, returning to his work area to measure out the correct amount before emptying it out into the zip-lock bag.

As the teacher finished walking up and down the aisles, she returned to the front of the room, "Alright, since this experiment can get a little messy, we're going to move the last portion of the experiment outside in the parking lot."

Roxas rolled his eyes, sliding up his safety googles so that they were resting on the crown of his head. As the other students filed out of the classroom, he found himself reluctantly tagging along after Axel, trying to keep up with the older male's longer strides.

Once outside in the parking lot, the students broke up into pairs once more, "So you hold the time-release capsule and I'll seal the bag." As he instructed, Axel placed the neatly folded napkin inside of the zip-lock bag, but held it pinched between his thumb and index finger while Roxas zipped it shut, "bomb's away." The blonde, muttered, watching the red-head release the baking-soda filled capsule into the baggie. The red-head briefly shook the bag so that the household chemicals would react faster before he set the bag down on the ground.

Roxas folded his arms over his chest, watching as the bag expanded as a result of the chemical reaction between the baking soda, vinegar, and water. If he hadn't done the exact same experiment in elementary school, he might have been a little more amused at the result. Instead, he remained perfectly bored as the plastic bag continued to expand until finally bursting like a balloon.

"I haven't been this disappointed since learning Santa wasn't real." The response poured from Axel's mouth at the speed of molasses. There was brief silence before they made eye-contact and immediately broke out into a spurt of laughter. And if the joke wasn't enough to make him smile, the sound of Axel's laugh was, even if he wouldn't dare admit it.

* * *

Once they were back in the classroom they began cleaning up their lab station. As Roxas reached out to grab the bottle of vinegar, Axel did the same, the red-head's fingers unintentionally ghosting over Roxas' knuckles. As if Axel's skin were composed of sulfuric acid, Roxas quickly withdrew his hand and occupied himself with cleaning off their measuring utensils instead.

"Y'know, I know my friends have a bad reputation, but that doesn't mean I'm like them."

Roxas didn't look at the man at first, mulling over his words before finally giving him a contemplative gaze. Axel made it hard not to believe him. He spoke with an unnerving ease, no notable indication that he was full of shit. Well, minus a few factors. "You can't hang out with assholes and not be an asshole yourself." In contrast to Axel's smooth ability to articulate his thoughts, Roxas was abrasive and brazen. There was no time to skirt around brushes or pretend his tongue was sweeter than his bite, "Birds of a feather."

Of course, there was no falter in Axel's façade of cool, the corners of his mouth merely quirking up, "Touche."

"And I haven't exactly forgotten your endearing 'trailer trash' comment, either. So, why, Axel Lacanster, should I  _not_  believe that you're another cookie-cutter GQ model look-alike with sociopathic tendencies as a result of too much money?" Roxas felt that he was pushing his luck with his smart-ass remarks.

"Same reason I don't immediately jump to the conclusion that you're another south-side fuck up whose future ends somewhere between a prison sentence and a crack-house." Axel countered.

Roxas felt his jaw tightening, molars grinding as he processed just as how thin his own-skin was. He thought about Hayner's warning to stay away from Axel, but Roxas felt that he could make his own judgements. His judgement being that he didn't like Axel at all. However, being civilized didn't mean that he had to like Axel. He could just as easily be friendly with him for the sake of his chemistry grade and nothing else.

"So, what do you say to a start over?" Axel interrupted his train of thoughts, hand extending outwards towards him.

Like most of Roxas' decision, his answer came in impulse, "Sure, I'll play along." The blond mumbled, extending his own hand to shake Axel's, "Roxas Kaufmann"

"Axel Lancaster." There was another grin on Axel's face as his cat-like eyes bore into Roxas' own vivid blues.

**Sora**

He'd been absent most of the day, actively ignoring Olette's concerned text messages and only spending fleeting seconds with Namine, as if to reassure everyone that he hadn't jumped ship. By the time lunch rolled around, though, he felt his anger from this morning dissipate, replaced with exhaustion and a strong desire for comradery.

"Sora, why don't you sit with us?"

The brunette had strode by Kairi's table, barely acknowledging the mixture of seniors and juniors, intending to make a beeline for Namine and Olette. Still, the commanding voice had him halting in place and turning to look at the red-head. Kairi had a playful smile on her face, one that made the acid in his stomach creep up his esophagus. Still, he smiled, "Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"Of course!"

Kairi insisted, scooting away from Riku and patting the space between them. Not wanting to look any dumber than he felt, Sora forced his feet forward. When he sat down, he found himself feeling incredibly small. Out of his peripheral vision, he was sure that RIku was giving him a look, but he didn't dare turn his head to check. He was pretty sure the man hated him, solidified by the shut-down he'd experienced yesterday with the posters.

He sucked air in through his teeth, heart-hammering in his chest as the adrenaline coursed through him. He felt like a rabbit who'd just waltzed into a wolf's den, but he tried to maintain some composure on the outside.

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you for putting up those posters! I know I've been kind of harsh lately, but I hope that you can forgive me." Kairi tilted her head, a half-pout on her face to emphasize just how sorry she was.

"Uh, no worries, I didn't mind." Sora lied through his teeth, meeting Kairi's gaze with some ease. Normally, he was able to navigate social situations with relative ease. In fact, in any other scenario in which he didn't feel like he was about to be pulled into the seventh-layer of hell, he thrived off of attention and spotlight. He had the uncanny ability to be bold with just the right of innocuous naivety that let his less than sugar-and-honey tongue go undetected.

"I'm so glad to hear it." Kairi let out a sigh of relief. She then leaned toward him, the unmistakable scent of her Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb perfume infiltrating his nose, "So, Riku and I were thinking you should totally come to this party that I'm throwing Saturday." Kairi's glossed lips curled into a come-hither smile before she looked over his shoulder to where Riku sat, mid-bite of a sandwich, "Isn't that right?"

For the first time since he sat down, Sora dared himself to look up at Riku, who was already looking at him, much to Sora's own embarrassment. He felt the heat rising to his face, and if he wasn't so nervous, he would've sworn he saw an amused smile grace the male's lips, "Yeah, you should."

Red-flags should have been sprouting up all over Sora's understanding of the universe, but they weren't. He was either borderline delirious or pathetically caught up in the dream-state of being included in the more 'popular' crowd. After an awkward pause, he smiled, "Uh, yeah, sure. I'd love to."


	6. Chapter Four

_"Lay all your laundry on the bed_  
_And then I'll lay in it instead_  
_I like us better when we're wasted"_

**Olette**

"If you don't hold still, I'm going to end up burning you." Olette sighed, once again re-positioning Namine's head with an eye-roll. She ran the hair straightener through the blond's hair a few times more before finally setting the device aside. In the mirror, Olette watched as Namine winced, "Stop acting like I'm killing you!" Olette choked out a laugh at her friend's dramatics.

"You keep pulling my hair!" Namine protested, gasping in mock outrage when Olette actually pulled her hair this time.

"That's pulling your hair. Now, hold still!" The blonde let out a soft whine, jutting out her bottom lip in a pout before letting Olette get back to work. With a comb in hand, she gently teased the hair to give it body, but not to an outrageous degree.

"Alright, face me." Olette commanded, watching Namine hesitantly turn in the chair to face her. Olette scanned over Namine's face, analyzing all of the girl's features before opening her makeup bag and setting a variety of makeup tools onto the vanity.

"I feel like you're about to perform surgery on my face." Namine commented idly, picking up an eye-shadow palette and looking over the colors.

Olette merely shook her head before tilting Namine's face upward so that she could apply eye-shadow, using the palette that Namine had been looking at to create a smoky-eyed look. She then applied eye-liner, occasionally sighing anytime the blonde flinched under the utensil. When she was finished, she gently blew on Namine's face, clearing off any excess eye-shadow before applying mascara to the girl's lashes. When her eyes where finished, she applied a red lip-stick on to Namine's lips, pausing briefly to admire the shape of the girl's lips. Eventually, she broke her trance and finished putting the makeup away, allowing Namine to look at herself in the mirror.

"I look like a hooker." Namine glanced up at her friend, looking more than a little uncomfortable.

"No, you look like you just stepped off the cover of a Rolling Stone magazine. So, hot." Olette giggled, waving a hand to emphasize her point while handing Namine a dress that belonged to her, but would look better on Namine.

Namine held the dress up, her face scrunching up into a look of uncertainty. While Namine definitely wasn't a prude, she was certainly conservative when it came to her fashion sense, "Isn't this a little short?"

"That's the point! Parties are where you get to be someone you're not. By day you're this modest and humble girl, but by night? You're the mysterious femme-fatal and, I, your marvelous side-kick and sex icon." Olette feigned a Vogue pose, batting her eye-lashes in dramatic fashion as if to prove her point. All of which resulted in Namine laughing at her.

With the proper coaxing, Namine was finally dressed in the black halter dress that stopped mid-thigh with thin straps that criss-crossed over Namine's sternum and were studded with spikes. Olette had to zip it up for her, brushing the hair away from the back of Namine's neck as she did. With the dress zipped up, Olette fixed the girl's hair before removing her favorite crown-necklace from around her neck and instead putting it around Namine's.

"Isn't this your good luck charm, what if I lose it?" Anxiety was evident in Namine's voice as she reached up to touch the charm, as if making sure it was still there and hadn't already gotten lost.

"Well, then don't lose it." Olette smiled, handing Namine a pair of black pumps before Olette turned away to finish getting ready herself.

When she was finished styling her own hair, she turned back to look at Namine, breath momentarily catching in her throat. She felt a fluttering feeling in her stomach, almost as if she was on a roller-coaster. Her heart felt as if it was hammering in her chest, but she couldn't place why. As the heat was beginning to rise in her cheeks, Namine was giving her a concerned look.

"What? Do I look weird?" The blond crossed her arms over her chest, as if in a vague attempt to cover up her insecurites about the outfit.

Olette managed a smile, shaking her head, "No, you look fantastic. Come on, we should leave before my parents get home and see us dressed like this." Olette laughed, grabbing Namine by the wrist and leading her out of her bedroom.

**Roxas**

As soon as Hayner turned down the street, Roxas felt an overwhelming desire to jump out of the car. The street was tightly packed with luxury cars and each house seemed nearly identical right down to their perfectly manicured lawns. He could hear the unmistakable pounding of a speaker's bass, or several, as the case may be.

"You didn't tell me it was north-side." Roxas gave Hayner an accusatory look as the male found a parking spot.

As they climbed out of the car, Hayner snorted, "You didn't ask, so I didn't tell."

Roxas rolled his eyes, scanning over the street with the sort of intensity that a soldier might have when observing enemy territory. Their intended destination was a large light-gray house, promptly marked by the heavily intoxicated teenagers who were meandering on the front-porch.

It was then that Roxas realized he stuck out like sore thumb, suddenly hyperaware of the paper-thinness of his worn out Ramones t-shirt and the holes in his black jeans that came from wear-and-tear. The only expensive thing he was wearing was his timberland boots, and even those were weather-worn. Roxas sighed, adjusting the black-beanie on his head as he followed after Hayner.

As Roxas filtered pass the cluster of bodies on the porch, he walked through the door with Hayner, pausing briefly to look at the chandelier above head. The magnificant piece of decor constrated sharply with the less-than-holy teeangers who grinded against each other while sucking down mixed-drinks as if it were a juicebox. The glass-crystals shook in tandem with the beat of the deafening music and Roxas briefly wished the chandelier would come crashing down on top of him, effectively turning his spine into an accordion.

As if Hayner was capable of reading his body-language, the male was quick to get them both a drink. Almost instantly, Roxas remembered why he liked north-side parties. Rich parents meant expensive alcohol cabinets, a signficant difference from the alcohol that he was used to. Roxas found himself pounding down shots, trying to regain some sense of unity in the mesh of overly expensive bodies that crowded the space.

"Hey, isn't that your sister?" Hayner suddenly leaned toward him, yelling over the music as he gestured across the room to where two girls were dancing.

At the mention of his sister, Roxas' head snapped to attention and he followed Hayner's line of sight. True to his word, Namine was dancing with her friend Olette. Judging by how self-assured Namine was, Roxas had the sinking suspicion that the girl was drunk. With a sigh of frustration, Roxas abandoned his post next to Hayner to approach his sister.

"Namine?" Roxas called out over the music, repeating himself twice before the girl finally heard him over the music. Almost instantly the girl's face fell, her eyes widening at the realization she'd been caught. Roxas gave Olette an accusing look, knowing the older girl was most likely the one to coax his sister into not only coming to the party, but dressing the way she was, "I thought you told mom you were staying over Olette's?"

"I am, technically." Namine argued, suddenly rediscovering her confidence. The girl folded her arms over her chest, weight shifting to the right-side of her stance so that her hip stuck out, "And aren't you supposed to be at home? If I remember correctly, you're still grounded."

Roxas shook his head, "We're going home."

Before Roxas could drag his sister out of the party, Hayner interrupted them, "Look, she's already here, you might as well deal with the fact that your sister's going to party."

"Yeah, lighten up, Roxas." Namine scowled, grabbing Olette by the hand and leading her friend away, not even acknowledging Roxas when the man tried to call for her.

**Kairi**

"Isn't that Namine?"

Kairi had been in the middle of chatting up one of Riku's teammates, a coy smile on her face as she flirted unabashedly. When Larxene interrupted the conversation, Kairi smiled apologetically to the boy whose name she couldn't remember before turning to give Larxene her attention. At the mention of Namine, Kairi found herself glancing around the room.

As soon as she spotted the two girls from across the room, she felt an unbridled rage bubble beneath her cool exterior. Even though Namine was only a sophomore, it seemed that people gravitated toward her. She was altruistic and several degrees of modest and humble. It didn't matter that she was some poor cretin that had climbed out of some sewer because she was  _nice_. Which was why she had Riku flirt with her, to expose her as a man-eating harlot so that Kairi herself could play the innocent victim. Unfortunately, her plot had blown up in her face. No causalities suffered minus her own bruised ego. Though, unbeknownst to Axel and Namine, Riku and she had an idea as to who had destroyed his car. It would make sense, seeing as the vandalism occurred only a week after the misfired date that left Namine momentarily humiliated. However, it was card they were keeping tucked under their sleeves.

Kairi smiled now, twisting her index finger in her hair to rejuvenate the curls before walking over to where the pair stood. Half-way over to them, Kairi stopped to swipe a cup off of one of the nearby tables, not bothering to look the unidentifiable alcohol as she approached the two. With a smile, her eyes bounced between the two friends, "That dress looks really good on you, Namine."

The blond smiled sheepishly, her discomfort over the interaction evident by the way Namine folded her arms over her chest. On the other hand, Olette seemed on the defensive, glaring at her with enough intensity to melt ice. Despite this, Kairi maintained her smile, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "Listen, I know that I've been kind of mean to you, but I'm actually really glad that you came. How about we call it a truce?"

As the words left her mouth, Kairi extended an arm out to the girl, drink in hand. Namine hesitated and rightfully so. As soon as the blond went to accept the drink, Kairi withdrew her hand the slightest bit before pouring the drink over Namine's head, a horrified gasp escaping the blond's mouth.

" _Oops_." Kairi grinned, walking off with Larxene who was snickering beside her. She ignored whatever Olette was yelling at her, and turning to Larxene, "We should go find Sora now."

**Roxas**

Roxas was trying to push past a cluster of guys from the lacrosse team who were being far too aggressive for the small area they were occupying, but Roxas didn't pay it any attention until he'd been accidentally shoved. The result was a minor-chain reaction in which he accidentally pushed some girl in front of him. Luckily, no one had fallen and there was a rushed half-assed apology from the lacrosse player. The girl, however, turned to look at him, pointing at her heels with a hot-pink finger nail, "You almost stepped on my Giuseppe Zanotti's!"

"I'm sorry, is that a shoe-designer or the sound someone makes when they sneeze?" Roxas furrowed his brows together, far too intoxicated to realize his sarcasm was misplaced in this scenario. The girl gasped, though Roxas wasn't sure if she was insulted by his commentary or insulted that he didn't know who designed her shoes. Her apparent horror was so strong that she looked behind her to the male she'd been talking to, as if looking for back-up or confirmation. As Roxas looked behind the girl, he saw none other than Axel who was caught somewhere between a face-splitting smile and full out laughter.

Upon seeing that Axel was basically laughing at her, the girl looked between the two males before stomping away angrily. Axel, who was now fully cracking up, shook his head, "We've gotta stop meeting like this."

Axel was probably as equally intoxicated as he was, making it all the more amusing that he seemed so relaxed. Up until now, Roxas had perceived the red-head to be very stone-faced and rigid, but here was, laughing at something Roxas had said two minutes ago. It wasn't the same chuckle that Axel gave to people in the hallways or in the classroom, it was  _real_. It was almost as if he was looking at a whole different person.

"Wanna get some fresh-air with me?" Axel questioned, seemingly gathering enough composure to ask. Before Roxas could comprehend the question or make a decision, Axel was leading him outside and into the backyard. Outside, Roxas was greeted with the crisp summer air, a relief form the mixing of booze and sweat in the house. As Roxas scanned over the backyard, he wasn't surprised to see an in-ground pool which was currently occupied with teenagers who were probably a drowning hazard. Everything felt larger than life and it was almost nauseating, but he ignored his desire to flee from another place he didn't belong by sitting next to Axel on the porch steps.

As his stomach settled, Roxas watched Axel light up a joint and put it between his lips, and for a moment, the two sat in agonizing silence while watching a drunken game of marco-polo. "Can I ask you a question?" Roxas' asked suddenly, his voice sounding strangely foreign to him. Which he assumed was because he'd been rehearsing the question in his head for the last five minutes, trying to determine if asking it would be wise.

"Shoot." Was Axel's reply, releasing a stream of smoke through his flaring nostrils.

"Who the fuck tattoos their face?" Admittedly, Roxas had imagined the question being formatted in a slightly different way.

Axel studied him for a moment, exhaling another stream of smoke only this time the marijuana cloud was directed at Roxas, "Has anyone ever told you that you have the social graces of a fish out of water?" As if to indicate that he didn't mean any real ill-will, the red-head offered his joint to Roxas, "Riku and I got fucked-up one night, ended up letting his older brother perform an 'at-home' tattoo, and the rest is history.  _Thankfully_ , they're not too big so they're easy to conceal. "

"They have, and that story easily makes the top ten of 'Weird Shit I've Heard This Week'." Roxas snickered, looking over the upside down triangles on the man's cheekbones. As he took a hit of the joint, he watched as one of the girl's in the pool had her bikini top pulled off, a squeal escaping her lips, "So, why'd you leave St. Jude's in the first place?"

"My god, you really don't have a filter do you?" Axel was laughing now, a musical laugh that had Roxas shivering without a breeze, "I don't think that's any of your business. All you need to know is that I did some shit and had to leave, but now I'm back." Axel shrugged, leaning back against the stairs.

"How long have you and Riku been friends?" Roxas didn't really care to know the answer, he just wanted to hear Axel talk. In fact, in his drunk stupor, he was sure ultimate satisfaction could be found in having his red-headed acquaintance talk him into a coma.

"Long enough for people to be afraid of me as much as they are of him." Axel answered with a shrug.

"People aren't afraid of you." Roxas started, looking over his shoulder to get a better look at the red-head's face, "People are intimidated by you. They either want to be you or they want to get fucked by you."

Roxas wanted to swallow his tongue the moment the words left his mouth. Axel leaned forward now, and with Roxas' face still turned toward him, their faces were close enough that Roxas could smell the alcohol on the man's breath. Roxas told himself that he could just as easily pull away, but his competitive nature told him that he couldn't be the first to look away. Admitting embarrassment would be a fate worse than death.

Axel had a self-assured look on his face now, confidence oozing from his pores. There was a smirk on his face, but not his normal shit-eating one. No, it was akin to the type of predatory look a cat gives a mouse before tossing said mouse in the air and snapping it's spine between sharpened canines, "Oh, yeah? Then what category does that put you in?"

And by the grace of the God's, Roxas phone buzzed with a new text message. The blond moved away from Axel, pulling his phone out to look at the message displayed on his screen.

"Convenient." Axel half-teased, taking the last drag on the joint before flicking it onto the cement walkway. As soon as the words left his mouth, his phone went off as well, "And now spooky." Axel snorted, taking out his own phone.

What shortly followed was a muffled orchestra of cell-phones going off at the same time.

"Fuck." Axel cursed, furrowing his brows together.

"I have to find Namine." Roxas commented hastily, rising to his feet and leaving Axel to stare at his cell-phone in stunned silence.

**Riku**

He'd been pushing his way through the crowds of teenagers for what felt like an eternity, unable to locate his girlfriend, or even Sora, as it were. As he gave up on the main floor of the house, he moved upstairs to start looking through the rooms. Aside from stumbling upon the occasional meshing of adolescent bodies, he found no one of great value until he opened one of the bathroom doors, finding a tearful Namine getting cleaned up by a furious Olette.

"Have either of you seen Kairi or Sora?" Riku doubted their willingness to cooperate with him, but he was running out of time and resources.

"Get the fuck out, asshole!" The blond reached for the wet-rag that Olette had been cleaning her with, ready to throw it at him but stopped by Olette.

"We haven't seen your bitch of a girlfriend since she poured a drink on Namine." Olette spat, hostility lacing her voice as she folded her arms over her chest, "And  _if_  Sora's at this party, I haven't see him all night." Was the brunette's curt response, returning to help Namine dry her hair with one of the towels that decorated the bathroom.

Riku frowned, finding the conversation to be useless as he closed the door and continued searching.

**Olette**

"I should have let you hit him with the towel." Olette fumed, looking at Namine who laughed in agreement.

Olette watched as Namine slide off the counter top she'd been sitting on, tears still staining her face as she tried to clean up her makeup in the mirror. Olette frowned, tucking her hair behind her eyes, "Did Sora say he would be at this party?"

Namine shook her hair out with the towel, knitting her brows together in thought, "No, I don't think so."

Olette opened her purse to pull out her cell-phone, getting ready to send Sora a text message when a message from an unknown number flashed across the screen of her phone. As she unlocked the screen and began reading the text, she gasped, dropping her purse to the floor where its miscellaneous contents fell to the floor in a clatter. Almost instantaneously, Namine's phone went off in her purse.

**Sora**

He'd been at the party only for a short amount of time before Kairi had invited him to her bedroom, a bottle of Grey Goose in hand. He couldn't fathom why the girl would abandon her own party, not only failing as a hostess but leaving her household to the clutches of overly rambunctious teenagers. However, any suspicions were tarnished by his fourth shot.

"Where's your bathroom?" His speech was slightly slurred, vision swimming as he tried to make sense of his environment.

Kairi glanced up from her lap-top, a sickeningly sweet smile planted on her face. She gave a look to Larxene that went mostly unreadable to Sora, "Down the stairs and to the right. Can't miss it."

Sora nodded, stepping outside into the attic stair-well where Kairi's room had been located. As he descended the stairs with a surprising amount of grace, he was greeted with the muffled sound of music that was still coming from the first floor. Stepping out into the hallway, he nearly crashed into Riku who seemed to be on a semi-frantic search for  _something_.

"Holy fuck, I've been looking for you all night." Riku sounded alarmed which Sora found surprising given the older male's hot-headed temperament and 'fuck off' demeanor.

"Uhm, what?" Sora questioned dumbly, folding his arms over his chest. He couldn't fathom what the man wanted from him, but the numerous ideas had his head-swimming.

"The other day, when you called Kairi a cunt, I might have," Riku trailed off, rubbing at the back of his neck. The mere sight of Riku's display of awkwardness made Sora want to laugh in his face, but he didn't, concern bubbling in his abdomen as he waited to hear what Riku had to say "told Kairi what you said."

Sora felt something lurch in his stomach, a knotting of nerve endings that worked to increase the salivation in his mouth. He wanted to puke, to run, to flee; to do anything but be standing here in Kairi's house, "You did  _what_?"

Just as Sora was about to verbally tear into the older man, his cell-phone buzzed with a text message. The brunette brushed his hair back, yanking his phone out of his back pocket to read the message. As he opened his text messages he saw that one was sent from an 'unknown' number, opening the message he slowly scanned over the words;

_**"Rumor has it that Sora Chesterfield didn't spend his summer in Tuscany with his parents, but rather with a mysterious older man. Don't believe me? Here are the pictures to prove it. – X** _

_**p.s. Buckle up, St. Jude, you're in for a helluva' year. I've got the dirt on all of you and I'm exposing you for the frauds you are. "** _

What followed were several pictures of Sora and the older man in question, Luxord, who he'd had a summer fling with despite more than decade separating them. Sora recognized all the pictures, having been the one to take them with his cell phone during a romantic randevú. Now, it seemed, that someone else had access to them. All of which made Sora's heart race. While the brunette worked to process what was happening, Sora heard Riku's phone go off, and without even looking up, he knew that Riku was looking at the same thing he was. In fact, he was sure _all_  of his classmates were looking at what he was seeing.

He was on the verge of tears, his ears ringing as the heat rose to his face. His breathing became more erratic as he became overwhelmed with the thought that everyone knew about him not only being gay, but having spent a summer with a man that was far older than him. All of which could lead to the school not only getting involved, but his parents as well, specifically his father. He felt himself rapidly becoming disconnected with his surroundings, not even registering the fact that Riku was trying to talk to him.

Then, without warning, he threw up on the hard-wood floors.


End file.
